Good morning, my beautiful friend!

Every morning, I write morning pages, which is pretty much just 3 pages of freehand writing I use to get all of my thoughts out of my head and on to paper. I do this every morning, and it helps take ALL those crazy thoughts I have about my goals, what I have to do that day, and helps create the space in my brain to focus on other important things vs. trying to remember my 90-mile-long to-do list.

Today, I was reflecting on how LONG it takes for some things we want to come to fruition.

The saying is true: GOOD THINGS TAKE TIME.

*Photo taken by Toronto-based photographer Amin*

Things that are worth having genuinely DO take time: our dream body, career, relationship. It takes hard work and effort.

But when we're so focused on the outcome — "I won't be happy until I get to X goal" — it makes for a miserable ride along the way.

It's like knowing you have to go on a road trip across the country to get to your fave place in the world, California. But instead of driving a reliable car, downloading a bomb playlist, riding with the windows down, stopping to enjoy the sights along the way... you CHOOSE to drive your brother's shitty 2004 Honda Civic that breaks down every 100 miles, whose radio doesn't work, and instead of stopping to stay at hotels and do some sightseeing, you're just going to power through, pull 3 all nighters, get cracked out on coffee and suffer through until you finally reach the promised land of Santa Monica.

Knowing that your journey is a long one, don't make it any harder on yourself than it has to be.

ENJOY the ride. Let loose. Live a little. Have some freakin' fun, why don't ya?!

In terms of fitness & health:

Even if you're not where you want to be right now, enjoy your body & the process NOW. Take classes or do workouts you love. Eat in a way that makes you feel amazing — taking the time to cook and prepare your food so it tastes delicious. Celebrate your body by wearing what you want (i.e. a bathing suit) with no shame and don't just wait around til you feel 'good enough.'

Your dream body will come only as a result of loving, taking care of, and being kind to the one you have right now.

In terms of your dream career:

Even if you're not making stupids amounts of money or doing what your soul feels called to do for a living right now, be grateful for all that you DO have. If you have a roof over your head, meals to eat and the means to read this right now... you're doing better than 90% of the world.

Plus, you're lucky to have ANY JOB in general. And if you truly don't like the job you're in, start taking steps to change that. Start a blog. Intern somewhere at night. Get the certification you need or go back to school on the side. THAT'S enjoying the process and being a part of actively creating the career of your dreams.

When I worked at my 9-5 advertising job, I was teaching group exercise classes on the side, then decided to get my personal training certification, which led to training clients, which led to me being able to leave my full-time job, which led to me being able to do this all online now. But had I just sat there and thought "woe is me... I hate my job... this is it for me." and didn't take steps to be an active creator of my future, I WOULD NOT BE WHERE I AM TODAY, and I certainly would not be continuing to build my dream career on a daily basis.

You just need a little courage. Courage builds confidence and trust, so every time you push the boundaries a bit on what you *think* you're capable of, you'll learn to trust yourself to take even bigger risks. Start small (or start big) but just START.

*side note of love* don't feed yourself the BS of "I don't know where to start" — you totally do. Don't let fear stop you. Take a baby step. What's one thing you can do TODAY that moves the needle in a positive direction? DO THAT.

In terms of your dream relationship:

Even if you're single as a Pringle right now, enjoy yourself. I was single for 3. YEARS. before I met Mark. But that doesn't mean I was sitting in my room waiting for him to come knock down my door (which would have been near impossible because the chances of him randomly finding my apartment in Orlando from Canada is slim.... lol)

While I was single, I took the time to discover who I truly was, without a relationship defining me — as I let it with so many of my past boyfriends. I went on dates and called them "MANventures" (shout out to Jenn — this was our inside joke HA), I discovered hobbies I truly loved (teaching group ex. classes, becoming a personal trainer), reading books and listening to podcasts to improve my career and myself as a human.

Ultimately, when the timing was right — my hobbies, my career, my work in personal development — all aligned when I took a chance to intern at Strength Camp, which *you know the ending* led me to meet and marry the love of my life! Now I live in a totally different country (talk about a curve ball I never would've anticipated in my wildest dreams!), we're about to move into a new place together, and we're creating our dream life TOGETHER.

But that's all because I spent the time to truly figure out who I was, what I wanted, and enjoyed myself along the way.

If you're interested, you can search Mark on my blog and there are plenty of posts about our moves/journey as a couple.

And I continue to enjoy myself (as best as I can) in ALL areas of my life today — even if they're not perfect — because WHY THE HECK NOT???!

Sure, these things take time. But what's the rush?

I've learned that the reason that our dreams don't manifest over night is because we have to become the person that's ready to handle that level of success.

For example, you say you want to win the lottery... but imagine you won $50 million tomorrow. Would you be the type of personal that's financially responsible enough to win that money and — more importantly — make it last? (so many of the winners just poo that money away. sad.)

Or say you want your dream boo to come into your life... what type of person are you being right now? Is your house cluttered with junk, or would you be proud to invite someone over? Are you carrying around emotional baggage from past relationships, or have you spent time working through all your old junk so that you don't carry that into a new relationship? Are you figuring out who you are individually so that when you meet him, you guys can become PARTNERS instead of searching for someone to fill a void that only *you* can fill?

These things take time, but they are so worth it.

While you're waiting patiently, become the person you want to be.

Because it's not about the outcome, it's about WHO YOU BECOME in the process of reaching that goal.

Always be a work in progress and never settle!

LOTS OF LOVE & HAPPINESS! xo,

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